Spirituality for Living

My own view of ‘isms’ is that if you are looking for “self” in an ism then it’s an encumbrance. They are no substitute for experience of the true self. But like words they can be stepping stones, useful tools. We all live a life where we are faced with things we don’t really understand, and we have an all consuming question that even the least reflective people still think of to some degree. The question can be shortened down to “Why?”

Religion is so inherent to the human mind and human nature that mental health professionals had to revise their definition of mental illness. They revised psychosis to mean anyone who experiences involuntary ideation and perception not in keeping with the social norm of their community and that causes them practical and social dysfunction. If your perceptions and ideas are viewed as socially acceptable and don’t impair your ability to take care of yourself and remain healthy, it’s religion.

“I urge you to try and understand — for everybody to understand what each other’s religion is so we can live in harmony with each other.” Khalid Iqbal

“The main object of religion is not to get a man into heaven, but to get heaven into him” Thomas Hardy (British Novelist and Poet 1840-1928)

the gods

The energy of the universe is marvellous, but Shivas dance is divisionary. Kali is the uniter. She dances too. The great mother is compassionate whether people like it or not. Perhaps the ultimate “kindly one” and like Isis she is the source of rebirth. Where our lord Shiva treads upon demons and is their king. The gods live in the collective soul of humanity and endure through many incarnations. Humanities gods are angry. Aries rules much at this point. God as a dynamic, and god manifested are rather different. Both can be spoken of to valuable insight. In fact, the spirits… Seek More

Form of Faith

What’s my religion, if I have one? Officially I don’t, or perhaps in the strictest sense of the word religion I do. I adopt a Gnostic view and see the spirit and the universe as one, however you choose to characterize these principles. I see neither a reason to anthropomorphize divinity, nor to view it as having no personality. I see devotion as valid but most “worship” observances as ignorant, or rather undertaken in ignorance of the value of ritual. Much of religion is politics, and I eschew that component. I see the wisdom in Christ’s comment, “Be still and… Seek More

Personal Experience and Belief

We are overconfident of human independence. Even modern psychological research suggest that it’s a half truth at best.  Then you could delve rationalistically into why that is and why we have what subconscious influences that we do. Does that invalidate spiritual experience and make the ancients foolish?  Maybe they were more expedient and direct in some ways. If anything they lived in more desperate times. If their activities were just delusion then it would seem to suggest our ancestors were all psychotic. If so how did they survive? There always were and always will be those who don’t want to rely on… Seek More

Documented Record for Ancient Lore

Literacy is interesting. Previously the only sanctioned literacy was of the priesthood, and only of the sacred texts. The word “talisman” was a reference to magicians marks, or to make marks like a magician. Tally was to make marks on a stick. The Norse did it to count sheep.  They made more complex marks than numbers, thus the runes, the men of the “logs” or sticks, and they did it on gold bracelets they wore also. We all practice the dark arts today as a matter of course.  The darks arts came from ancient trual dramas that involved slight of hand.… Seek More

Religions

There are so many ‘isms’ in this world (Communism, Islamism, Anarchism, Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, etc.). I think that those limit our awareness, and freedom? My own view of ‘isms’ is that if you are looking for “self” in an ism then yes, it’s an encumbrance. But like words they can be stepping stones, useful tools.  They are no substitute for experience of the true self. If anything rather much the opposite. It seeks clarity so that when a loved one hugs you, you will be truly aware of it. That when someone helps you up from a fall, you will… Seek More

Cults

The hermit can be considered strongly individualistic. They tend to develop serious aberrations as well, unless they went into hermitage with a discipline, with a focus, a reason why. Do Americans have this purpose for isolation? The wife beater likes to keep his activities very quiet, the child molester too, the hypocritical clergyman. But as a culture do we have a purpose for isolation? How many American monks are there? There are some, but it’s not a very popular way of life here, and that’s too bad. Monks don’t bother with telling people they’re going to hell. They are just… Seek More

Old Lore

Before the world was made there were two factions of spirits in a state of chaos. You will find this in all of the ancient creation myths. One faction was in some way divinely inspired and beneficent, and they began the act of creation. The other was dissonant for one reason or another, and the supposedly good faction rejected or strictly limited the influence of the dark one. As the act of creation started some of the more worldly spirits took up residence on the world, living in it and protecting it. These were the first elementals and devas, the… Seek More

Exploring Religion

One World, Many Paths holds spirituality discussions in the virtual world of Second Life. Join us there to meet like minds and explore your path. ~~~~~ I’m an atheist, but I find religion very interesting. Especially mysticism, druidism, Wicca. It is, yes. There are so many beliefs that have shaped our world even when we don’t know it. I’m an atheist by principle, really. An agnostic by definition. I feel I should make the point that it’s possible to be a good person without religion. ~~~~~ Wicca is a pagan religion based on Celtic Druidism founded in the 1950′s by Gerald… Seek More

Truth and Lies

Rosicrucianism is a pseudo-gnostic school with a lot of obtuse arguments regarding the nature of human progress and spiritual advancement. The Rosicrucian movement can be argued to be a hoax similar to the supposed Illuminati. There isn’t a lot to say about it of any coherence. What constitutes a hoax? Incoherence. Same as what constitutes a lie as opposed to a delusion. What constitutes a lie vs. delusion? A lie is a deliberate inconsistency. A delusion is an incompletely considered perception. Lies can contain a great deal of truth. Delusions tend to be dead ends. The scriptures seem very dualistic.… Seek More

Practice Of Religion

Religion is from the Latin world religio, which was their word for practice of any kind. Legal is also a word that comes from the same root. It’s hard to name one body of beliefs (well, it’s really impossible), and say “There … what that is, is religion.” In fact, for as long as humanity has had any memory of its past, and certainly as long as it has kept any records of ideas, it’s had religion. We all live a life where we are faced with things we don’t really understand, and we have an all consuming question that… Seek More